View clinical trials related to Pseudomonas Infections.
Filter by:This protocol aims to collect human peripheral blood mononuclear cells for the production of dendritic cells (DC). There are two ways to collect human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in this protocol. One is by using the method of leukapheresis from normal healthy adults. The other is by drawing the blood from normal healthy adults and then getting the buffy coats from the blood.
More than 80 patients at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have been infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, lacking susceptibility to all commercially available antibiotics except "colistin". This antibiotic was developed in the 1960s and preliminary pharmacokinetic studies were performed at that time. Dosing recommendations, on the basis of these pharmacokinetic studies, are listed in the drug's product information. However, there are no dosing recommendations for patients requiring renal replacement therapy (either intermittent hemodialysis or continuous venovenous hemofiltration). Furthermore, the science of antibiotic dosing ("pharmacodynamics") has changed significantly since the 1960s and it is quite possible that the dosing recommendations listed in the product information are not optimal. Furthermore, even though physicians refer to "colistin" administration, the only intravenous form of the drug is colistin methanesulfonate (CMS). CMS is converted in the body to colistin. Both CMS and colistin have different pharmacokinetic and antimicrobial activities. For this reason, we, the investigators at the University of Pittsburgh, are performing a pilot study of the pharmacokinetics of intravenous CMS/colistin in patients requiring this antibiotic for clinical purposes. Plasma concentrations will be determined around a CMS/colistin dose once the drug has reached steady state. Concentrations in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid will also be determined in patients with pneumonia. Microbiologic and clinical endpoints will be determined and will be correlated with these concentrations. The measurement of CMS and colistin levels will be determined by a laboratory in Australia which developed these assays. A submission is being made to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for funding of a multicenter study which will address this research question with a greater sample size. The study proposed here is a pilot study in order to prove the feasibility of the research approach and to provide preliminary data for the NIH proposal.
Some bacteria that cause disease can produce toxic substances that may worsen the disease. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacteria that can produce a variety of toxins and is of special interest for patients with cystic fibrosis and repeated long term lung infections. The goal of this study is to determine whether specific toxins produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa may be important in the disease process of chronic lung infections of patients with cystic fibrosis. This study will attempt to measure bacterial production of toxins in blood and sputum and immune system response to toxins in the blood....
Although cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common, life-threatening autosomal recessive genetic disorder of the white population, there are often delays in diagnosis and hence start of treatment. Advances of the past two decades have made CF screening feasible using routinely collected neonatal blood specimens and measuring an enzyme level followed by CF mutation DNA analysis. Our overall goal of the study is to see if early diagnosis of CF through neonatal screening will be medically beneficial without major risks. ''Medically beneficial'' refers to better nutrition and/or pulmonary status, whereas '' risks'' include laboratory errors, miscommunication or misunderstanding, and adverse psychosocial consequences. Specific aims include assessment of the benefits, risks, costs, quality of life, and cognitive function associated with CF neonatal screening and a better understanding of the epidemiology of CF. A comprehensive, randomized clinical trial emphasizing early diagnosis as the key variable has been underway since 1985. Nutritional status has been assessed using height and weight measurements and biochemical methods. The results have demonstrated significant benefits in the screened (early diagnosis) group. We are now focusing on the effect of early diagnosis of CF on pulmonary outcome. Pulmonary status is measured using chest radiographs, chest scans using high resolution computerized tomography, and pulmonary function tests. Other factors that we are looking at include risk factors for the acquisition of respiratory pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, quality of life and cognitive function of children with CF who underwent early versus delayed diagnosis, as well as the cost effectiveness of screening and the costs of diagnosis and treatment of CF throughout childhood. If the questions underlying this study are answered favorably, it is likely that neonatal screening using a combination of enzyme level (immunoreactive trypsinogen) and DNA test will become the routine method for identifying new cases of CF not only in the State of Wisconsin, but throughout the country.